Relative rheological evolution of chemically contrasted coeval magmas: example of the Tichka plutonic complex (Morocco)

The Tichka plutonic complex presents many unusual structures related to physical interaction between mafic and felsic coeval magmas. In this paper, a rheological approach is used to attempt to understand the various observed structures. After a general presentation of rheological laws and a discussion about the present state of our understanding of the rheology of suspensions, we analyse the main steps of rheological evolution of magmas during crystallization. Taking into account the effect of cooling, increase of silica content and increase of crystallinity on viscosity during thermal evolution of magma, a general rheological diagram is presented. Two main rheological thresholds at about 35% crystallinity (Th₁) and about 65–70% (Th₂), allow us to distinguish three major steps in the rheological behaviour of magmas during cooling. Comparative study of evolution curves for viscosity of coeval mafic (M) and felsic (F) magmas shows that an inversion temperature Ti exists, at which viscosities of both magmas are the same. This point has major petrologic significance because the viscosity ratio (M/F) inverses during cooling when the temperature of magma falls below the Ti point. A model for the evolution of the Tichka magmas during cooling has been derived from the knowledge of the chemical and mineralogical composition of the different rocks representing the original (M) and (F) magmas as well as some hybrid and differentiated samples. Viscosities and crystal fractions of magmas as functions of temperature have been calculated from chemical and mineralogical data. Curves representing the evolution of apparent viscosity of the three initial magmas of the complex are presented. From these vicosity/temperature curves and from the calculted temperatures corresponding to rheological thresholds Th₁ and Th₂ for the different coeval magmas, five main evolution stages are defined. The different structures observed at the contracts between M and F magmas are developed throughout the entire cooling history of the pluton, each structure being related to one of the main evolution stages.     

Emplacement of synkinematic plutons in the Variscan Odenwald (Germany) controlled by transtensional tectonics

In the Odenwald area (SW-Germany) an intermediate level of Variscan magmatic arc is exposed. Between 360 and 335 Ma the »Neunkirchen Intrusive Complex« intruded into an active NE-SW-trending zone of ductile divergent strike shear. After the thermal peak of metamorphism, but before the emplacement of the magmatic rocks shear zones developed in the wall rocks. The microfabrics of these zones infer plastic deformation of feldspar, hornblende and quartz and an increasing degree of postkinematic annealing towards the intrusive complex. During emplacement and solidification, the magmatic rocks experienced bulk strain: The intrusive complex locally crosscut the shear zones of the wall rocks, but show magmatic and also mylonitic foliations which parallel these zones. A change from plastic to brittle behavior of feldspar and amphibole and a varying degree of postkinematic annealing of quartz, suggest that in the intrusive complex strike shear continued during cooling. In wall rocks and plutonic rocks kinematic indicators imply sinistral displacement; in the wall rocks adjacent to the intrusive complex, strike shear was combined with normal displacement. This suggests that a component of horizontal extension which was associated with strike shear (transtension) facilitated ascend and emplacement of the magma. Transtension occurred at the same time, when the Schwarzwald/Vosges area (in the south of the Odenwald) was subjected to NW-SE compression; transtension was probably initiated by lateral escape of crustal fragments during overall convergent plate movements. Transtension is also supposed to be associated with significant uplift of metamorphic rocks.

---

Zusammenfassung Im Gebiet des Odenwaldes (SW-Deutschland) ist das mittlere Krustenniveau eines variszischen magmatischen Gürtels aufgeschlossen. Zwischen 360 und 335 Ma intrudierte eine Abfolge magmatischer Gesteine (»Neunkirchener Flasergranitoid-komplex«) synkinematisch in eine NE-SW-streichende, divergente, duktile Blattverschiebungszone: Nach dem thermischen Höhepunkt der Metamorphose, aber noch vor der Platznahme der magmatischen Gesteine entwickelten sich im Nebengestein Scherzonen. Die Mikrogefüge dieser Zonen zeigen plastisches Deformationsverhalten von Feldspat, Hornblende und Quarz und postkinematische Temperung an. Während der Platznahme und Konsolidierung wurden die Magmatite deformiert. Die magmatische Abfolge schneidet lokal die Scherzonen des Nebengesteins, weist aber magmatische und auch mylonitische Foliationen parallel zu diesen Zonen auf. In den Magmatiten überdauerte die Abkühlung die Deformation: Feldspat und Amphibol zeigen einen Wechsel im Deformationsverhalten von plastisch zu spröde, der Grad der postkinematischen Temperung variiert. Im Nebengestein und in der magmatischen Abfolge wurden aus kinematischen Indikatoren sinistrale Blattverschiebungen abgeleitet. In den Nebengesteinen beinhalten die Blattverschiebungen eine deutliche Abschiebungskomponente. Dies läßt darauf schließen, daß horizontale Extension, die mit den Blattverschiebungen assoziiert war (Transtension) Aufstieg und Platznahme des Magmas erleichterte. Transtension fand gleichzeitig mit NW-SE-Kompression in Schwarzwald/Vogesen (südlich des Odenwaldes) statt. Transtension wurde möglicherweise durch »lateral escape« einzelner Krustenfragmente während der Kompression verursacht; sie ist wahrscheinlich auch mit signifikanter Hebung von metamorphen Gesteinen verbunden.

---

Résumé Dans l'Odenwald (Allemagne du sud-ouest) affleure le niveau crustal moyen d'un arc magmatique varisque. Entre 360 et 335 Ma, un ensemble de roches magmatiques (le Complexe intrusif de Neukirchen) s'est mis en place de manière syncinématique dans une zone de cisaillement ductile divergent: après le pic thermique du métamorphisme, mais avant la mise en place des roches magmatiques, des shear-zones se sont développées dans les roches encaissantes. Les microfabriques de ces zones montrent une déformation plastique du feldspath, de la hornblende et du quartz et un recuit post-cinématique dont le degré augmente vers le complexe intrusif. Les roches magmatiques ont été déformées au cours de leur mise en place et de leur consolidation. Le complexe intrusif est localement sécant sur les shear-zones des roches encaissantes, mais présente des foliations magmatiques et mylonitiques parallèles à ces zones. Dans les roches magmatiques, la déformation cisaillante s'est poursuivie pendant le refroidissment: en témoignent le passage du comportement plastique du feldspath et de l'amphibole à un comportement rupturel, ainsi qu'un degré variable de recuit postcinématique du quartz. Tant dans les roches plutoniques que dans leurs encaissants, les marqueurs de déformation impliquent un déplacement sénestre; dans les roches encaissantes, le cisaillement est combiné à un déplacement normal. On en déduit qu'une composante d'extension horizontale, associée au cisaillement (« transtension »), a facilité la montée et la mise en place du magma. Cette «transtension» s'est manifestée au moment où la région des Vosges et de la Forêt Noire (au sud de l'Odenwald) était soumise à une compression et une transpression NW-SE; la transtension a été probablement initiée par le départ latéral («lateral escape») de fragments de croûte lors des mouvements de convergence des plaques. Elle est aussi vraisemblablement en liaison avec une montée significative des roches métamorphiques.

---

. 360 335 , , NE-SW («Neunkirchener Flasergranitoidkomplex»). , . , , . . , , , . : , . , . . , , ( ), . NW-SE /, .. . , , («lateral escape») . , , .

     

The genesis of Variscan (Hercynian) plutonic rocks: Inferences from Sr,Pb, and O studies on the Maladeta igneous complex,central Pyrenees (Spain)

The Maladeta plutonic complex formed during the latest stages of the Variscan orogeny. It was emplaced into the Paleozoic sedimentary sequence of the Pyrenees. The eastern part, investigated in the present study, consists of an early intrusion of cumulate gabbronorites followed in order of emplacement by the main biotite-hornblende granodiorite, which was itself intruded by two small stocks of two-mica cordierite granite. An ⁸⁷Rb-⁸⁷Sr isochron dates the granodiorite at 277±7 m.y. with an initial (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_o ratio of 0.7117±3. Gabbroic rocks have lower strontium initial ratios, down to 0.7092, while those of granite range from that of the granodiorite up to about 0.715. The three rock types have distinctive ¹⁸O values: 8.7 to 9.6 for the gabbronorites, 9.4 to 10.4 for the granodiorites and 10.3 to 11.8 for the granites. Lead isotopic compositions of rocks and feldspars are all radiogenic. Feldspars give consistent Pb model ages around 280 m.y., with and values of about 9.7 and 4.05, respectively. No pristine, mantle-derived magma was found among the investigated samples and the rocks cannot be related to one another by any simple mechanism of fractional crystallization. Some type of mixing process involving two end members seems to be required: a high-¹⁸O, high-⁸⁷Sr material that is clearly of crustal origin, and a lower-¹⁸O, lower-⁸⁷Sr end member derived from the mantle. Examination of various mixing models does not support magma mixing nor assimilation of crustal rocks by a mafic magma. The most acceptable model involves melting at different levels of a vertically-zoned source in the continental crust; this source was formed by mixing between mantle-derived magmas and crustal metasediments. This material was apparently thickened, tectonically downwarped and partially melted. None of the Maladeta magma-types appear to have been derived at a consuming plate boundary.Contribution Number 3280, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA     

Fractures network mapping using remote sensing in the Paleozoic massif of Tichka (Western High Atlas,Morocco)

The Paleozoic massif of Tichka in the southern part of the Western High Atlas of Morocco constitutes a structural transition between the Meseta and the Anti-Atlas domains. It was affected by a complex network of fractures noticeable at different scales. Using Landsat ETM+ imagery permits detecting the main fracture directions. Various techniques of lineament’s extraction were applied, including the colored compositions, spectral band ratios, and directional filters applied to the principal component analysis. Lineament’s extraction is based on visual interpretation and completed by field observations. The resulted map allows recognizing at least four trending fracture system, with average N-S, NE-SW, E-W, and NW-SE orientations. The surrounding rocks of the granitic massif show a high fracture density. Tectonic indicators show that this massif is initially affected by NW-SE Variscan tectonic extension, followed by NW-SE Variscan compression. This regime is being maintained until the late Variscan period corresponding to the relaxation of the NW-SE major Variscan stress. A clockwise rotation of the latter stress, which became N-S to NNE-SSW, related to the late Variscan deformation, is responsible for reworking preexisting faults.     

Post‐Variscan tectonics in eastern Anti‐Atlas (Morocco)

New field data integrated by fission‐track (FT) analysis unravel an innovative scenario for the post‐Variscan evolution of the eastern Anti‐Atlas. This area, unaffected by Meso‐Cenozoic tectonics according to most workers, is crosscut by crustal faults bearing evidence of a polyphase deformation history. Apatite FT ages, ranging between 284 and 88 Ma, point to fast Neogene exhumation and unravel contrasting cooling paths across major faults. Results show that the study area was buried beneath 2 km of allochthonous Variscan units, now eroded. The eastern Anti‐Atlas acted as the southern shoulder of the Atlasic rift in the Mesozoic, and underwent a dextral transpressional structuring of Neogene age followed by sub‐meridian shortening. The southern front of Atlasic deformation is therefore located inside the Anti‐Atlas region, and it is still active.     

Magmatic stoping as an important emplacement mechanism of Variscan plutons: evidence from roof pendants in the Central Bohemian Plutonic Complex (Bohemian Massif)

The presence of numerous roof pendants, stoped blocks and discordant intrusive contacts suggests that magmatic stoping was a widespread, large-scale process during the final construction of the Central Bohemian Plutonic Complex, Bohemian Massif. The measured total length of the discordant contacts that cut off the regional cleavage and were presumably formed by stoping corresponds to about half of all contacts with the upper-crustal host rocks. In addition, at least some of the straight, cleavage-parallel intrusive contacts may also have recorded complex intrusive histories ending with piecemeal stoping of thin cleavage-bounded host rock blocks into the magma chamber. Based on the above, we argue that the fast strain rates required for emplacement of large plutons of the Central Bohemian Plutonic Complex into brittle upper crustal host rocks over relatively short-time span could not have been accommodated entirely by slow ductile flow or slip along faults. Instead, the emplacement was largely accommodated by much faster thermal cracking and extensive stoping independent of regional tectonic deformation. Finally, we emphasize that magmatic stoping may significantly modify the preserved structural patterns around plutons, may operate as an important mechanism of final construction of upper-crustal plutons and thus may contribute to vertical recycling and downward transport of crustal material within the magma plumbing systems in the crust.     

Southern margin of the Variscan belt: the north-western Gondwana mobile zone (eastern Morocco and Northern Algeria)

Stratigraphic and structural correlations between the Palaeozoic massifs of eastern Morocco and northern Algeria allow three tectonic domains to be distinguished: (1) The cratonic zone, i.e. the West African platform which remained outside the Variscan chain and its peripherical margin (Moroccan Anti-Atlas and Algerian Ougarta); (2) a WSW-ENE trending zone, over 1500 km from Marrakech to Kabylia and Calabria (in their assumed Palaeozoic location). — This zone was characterized during the Late Palaeozoic by a continuous instability indicated by the development of successive turbiditic basins and a major orogeny at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary; and (3) central and western Morocco, which corresponds to the external zones of the European Hercynides.The Marrakech-Kabylia zone separates the Variscan domain from the stable and undeformed West African craton. During Early Palaeozoic times it began as an extensive or transtensive zone. It has been deformed by the Late Devonian orogeny and by Carboniferous and Permian reactivation. The zone represents the southern limit of the Hercynian chain and is distinguished by its transcurrent regime throughout the Late Palaeozoic. Correspondence to: A. Piqué     

The tectonic history of the Pre-Saharan depression (Morocco) a geomorphological interpretation

During the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods the Pre-Saharan depression between Ouarzazate and Errachidia was an area of deposition in a spatially and chronologically highly differentiated pattern. The variable structural and tectonic history of this region in also reflected in its denudational development. Until the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene the western part (Ouarzazate basin) was a depositional basin for lacustrine and alluvial sediments. Pediment formation did not start before the Pleistocene period. In the central part of the depression (between Boumalne and Tinerhir) denudational activity on cuesta scarps started already in the late Miocene to early Pliocene as can be deduced from a new dating of the Foum el Kous volcano (2.9 my) and from Djebl Sarhro gravels on the crest of the Paleogene scarp. In the easternmost part of the depression (between Goulmima and Errachidia) there are no Neogene sediments, and the calculations of rates of scarp retreat demonstrate that scarp backwearing must have begun in the late Eocene. Thus the shift from depositional to erosional activity in the Pre-Saharan depression ranges from the late Eocene to the Pleistocene. This is at the same time an expression of its complex tectonic history.

---

Zusammenfassung Die präsaharische Senke zwischen Ouarzazate und Errachidia war während der Kreide und des Tertiärs ein Sedimentationsgebiet mit zeitlich und räumlich hoch differenzierten Fazies- und Mächtigkeitsabfolgen. Die variable strukturelle und tektonische Entwicklung dieser Zeit spiegelt sich wider in der nachfolgenden Abtragungsgeschichte. Der westliche Teil der Senke, das Becken von Ouarzazate, war bis zum späten Pliozän/frühen Pleistozän ein Ablagerungsbecken für limnische und alluviale Sedimente, bis im frühen Pleistozän die Genese von Pedimenten einsetzte. Im zentralen Teil der präsaharischen Senke zwischen Boumalne und Tinerhir begann die erosive Reliefentwicklung an Stufenhängen bereits im späten Miozän bis frühen Pliozän, wie sich aus einer absoluten Datierung des Ankaratrits des Foum el Kous (2,9 my) ableiten läßt, der sich in die zu dieser Zeit bereits existente Stufenvorlandzone ergoß. Eine untere Zeitmarke für die Entstehung der Schichtstufe stellen die von Süden vom Djebl Sarhro in die Senke hereintransportierten Schotter von Timadriouine dar. Im Ostteil der präsaharischen Senke zwischen Goulmima und Errachidia fehlen neogene Sedimente, und die Ermittlung von Stufenrückwanderungsraten für die Hamada de Meski zeigt, daß die Abtragung hier schon im späten Eozän eingesetzt haben muß. Der Wechsel von Sedimentations- zu subaerischen Abtragungsbedingungen reicht in der präsaharischen Senke vom frühen Pleistozän im Westen bis zum Eozän im Osten. Das ist auf geomorphologischer Grundlage ein Hinweis auf die komplexe strukturelle und tektonische Entwicklung dieser Region.

---

Résumé Au cours du Crétacé et du Tertiaire, la dépression présaharienne entre Ouarzazate et Errachidia a été un domaine de sédimentation marqué par de fortes variations de faciès et d'épaisseurs dans le temps et dans l'espace. L'histoire structurale et tectonique mouvementée de cette période se reflète également dans la dénudation qui a suivi. La partie ouest de la dépression (bassin d'Ouarzazate) a constitué jusqu'à la limite Plio-Pléistocène une aire de dépôt de sédiments lacustres et alluviaux; la formation de pédiments n'y a débuté qu'au Pléistocène. Dans la partie centrale de la dépression, entre Boumalne et Tinerhir, l'érosion en cuestas a débuté dès le Miocène supérieur/Pliocène inférieur, comme l'indique une datation récente à 2,9 Ma de l'ankaratrite du volcan Foum el Kous qui s'est écoulée en avant d'une cuesta qui existait déjà à ce moment. Une limite inférieure pour la formation des cuestas est fournie par les graviers de Timadriouine transportés dans la dépression depuis le sud à partir du Djebel Sarhro.Dans la partie orientale de la dépression présaharienne, entre Goulmina et Errachidia, les sédiments néogènes font défaut et l'évaluation de la vitesse de recul des fronts de cuestas montre que ce processus a dû commencer à l'Eocène supérieur. Ainsi, le passage de la sédimentation à l'activité érosive dans la dépression pré-saharienne varie du Pléistocène inférieur à l'ouest, à l'Eocène à l'est. C'est là, à partir de données géomorphologiques, une indication de l'histoire structurale et tectonique complexe de cette région.

---

- Ouarzazate Errachidia , , , . . , Ouarzazate / ; . Boumalne Tinerhir () , , Foum el Kous (2,9 Ma), . Timadriouine Djebl Sarhro . Goulmina Errachidia Hamada de Meski , , , . , . .

     

Textural history of recent basaltic-andesites and plutonic inclusions from Merapi volcano

Mt. Merapi in Central Java is one of the most active stratovolcanoes on Earth and is underlain by a multistage plumbing system. Crystal size distribution analyses (CSD) were carried out on recent Merapi basaltic-andesites and co-eruptive magmatic and plutonic inclusions to characterise the crystallisation processes that operate during storage and ascent and to obtain information on respective time scales. The basaltic-andesites exhibit log-linear, kinked-upwards CSD curves for plagioclase and clinopyroxene that can be separated into two main textural populations. Large plagioclase phenocrysts (≥1.6 mm) make up one population, but correspond to crystals with variable geochemical composition and reflect a period of crystal growth at deep to mid-crustal levels. This population was subsequently influenced by crystal accumulation and the onset of crustal assimilation, including the incorporation of high-Ca skarn-derived xenocrysts. Textural re-equilibration is required for these crystals to form a single population in CSD. A second episode of crystal growth at shallower levels is represented by chemically homogenous plagioclase crystals <1.6 mm in size. Crustal assimilation is indicated by, for example, oxygen isotopes and based on the CSD data, crystallisation combined with contamination is likely semi-continuous in these upper crustal storage chambers. The CSD data observed in the basaltic-andesite samples are remarkably consistent and require a large-volume steady state magmatic system beneath Merapi in which late textural equilibration plays a significant role. Plagioclase CSDs of co-eruptive magmatic and plutonic inclusions may contain a third crystal population (<1 mm) not found in the lavas. This third population has probably formed from enhanced degassing of portions of basaltic-andesite magma at shallow crustal levels which resulted in increased crystallinity and basaltic-andesite mush inclusions. A suite of coarse plutonic inclusions is also present that reflects crystallisation and accumulation of crystals in the deep Merapi plumbing system, as deduced from CSD patterns and mineral assemblages.     

Trace-element study and uranium-lead dating of perovskite from the Afrikanda plutonic complex, Kola Peninsula (Russia) using LA-ICP-MS

The U-Pb geochronology of perovskite is a powerful tool in constraining the emplacement age of silica-undersaturated rocks. The trace-element and U-Pb isotopic compositions of perovskite from clinopyroxenite and silicocarbonatite from the Afrikanda plutonic complex (Kola, Russia) were determined by laser-ablation inductively-coupled mass-spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). In addition, the Sr isotopic composition of perovskite was measured by isotope-dilution mass-spectrometry to better constrain the relations between its host rocks. Perovskite from the two rock types shows a different degree of enrichment in Na, Mg, Mn, Pb, Fe, Al, V, rare-earth elements, Zr, Hf, Th, U and Ta. The perovskite ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values are within analytical uncertainty of one another and fall within the range of mantle values. The ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages (corrected for common lead using ²⁰⁷Pb-method) of perovskite from silicocarbonatite statistically yield a single population with a weighted mean of 371?±?8 Ma (2σ; MSWD?=?0.071). This age is indistinguishable, within uncertainty, to the clinopyroxenite weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 374?±?10 Ma (2σ; MSWD?=?0.18). Our data are in good agreement with the previous geochronological study of the Afrikanda complex. The observed variations in trace-element composition of perovskite from silicocarbonatite and clinopyroxenite indicate that these rocks are not related by crystal fractionation. The Sr isotopic ratios and the fact that the two rocks are coeval suggest that they were either produced from a single parental melt by liquid immiscibility, or from two separate magmas derived at different degrees of partial melting from an isotopically equilibrated, but modally complex mantle source.     

Transpressional tectonics and nappe stacking along the Southern Variscan Front of Morocco

The Southern Variscan Front in the Tinerhir area involves Palaeozoic allochthonous units (Ouaklim and Tilouine units) thrust onto the northern edge of the West African Craton during late Carboniferous time. Illite crystallinity data highlight an anchizonal grade for the Ouaklim Unit, and a diagenesis-anchizone transition for the Tilouine Unit during deformation phase D1. The tectonic stack is crosscut by major dextral reverse faults bounding E–W trending domains of dominant shortening deformation (central domain) and strike-slip deformation (northern and southern domains), later segmented by a network of post-Variscan faults. This complex deformation pattern is the result of kinematic partitioning of dextral transpression along the Southern Variscan Front, coeval with the Neovariscan (300–290 Ma) oblique convergence observed at the scale of the whole Moroccan Variscides. Partitioning of dextral transpression described in the Tinerhir area is consistent with dextral wrench faulting along the Tizi n’ Test Fault, and with Appalachian-style south-directed thrusting in the Tinerhir and Bechar-Bou Arfa areas.     

Gabbro-peridotite sills of the Late Riphean Dovyren plutonic complex (northern Baikal area,Russia)

We report data on the geology, mineralogy, petrography, and chemistry of 733 Ma gabbro-peridotite sills from the Late Riphean Dovyren plutonic complex. Thick sills were differentiated into plagiolherzolite to olivine gabbronorite compositions by fractional crystallization of the K-Na series high-Mg low-alkali low-Ti picritic parental magma. The magma already contained up to 5% of intratelluric olivine crystals when entering the reservoir. The sills emplaced before the whole complex, judging by the presence of their fragments as plagiolherzolite xenoliths in the gabbro zone of the Yoko-Dovyren layered pluton. The gabbro-peridotite sills are products of high-temperature within-plate magmatism. High heat flow during the generation of the magma, evident from its high-Mg composition, was likely maintained by the activity of a mantle plume associated with the Neoproterozoic Franklin large igneous province.     

Metamorphic evolution of garnet-spinel peridotites from the Variscan Schwarzwald (Germany)

Garnet-spinel peridotites form small, isolated, variably retrogressed bodies within the low-pressure high-temperature gneisses and migmatites of the Variscan basement of the Schwarzwald, southwest Germany. Detailed mineralogical and textural studies as well as geothermobarometric calculations on samples from three occurrences are presented. Two of the garnet-spinel peridotites have equilibrated at 680–770°C, 1.4–1.8 GPa within the garnet-spinel peridotite stability field, one of the samples having experienced an earlier stage within the spinel peridotite stability field (790°C, <1.8 GPa). The third sample, with only garnet and spinel preserved, probably equilibrated within the garnet peridotite stability field at higher pressures. These findings are in line with the distinction of two groups of ultramafic garnet-bearing high-pressure rocks with different equilibration conditions within the Schwarzwald (670–740°C, 1.4–1.8 GPa and 740–850°C, 3.2–4.3 GPa) which has previously been established (Kalt et al. 1995). The equilibration conditions of 670–770°C and 1.4–1.8 GPa for garnet-spinel peridotites from the Central Schwarzwald Gneiss Complex (CSGC) are similar to those for eclogites of the Schwarzwald and also correspond quite well to those for garnet-spinel peridotites from the Moldanubian zone of the Vosges mountains and of ecologites from the Moldanubian s.str. of the Bohemian Massif.     

Metasomatism and melting history of a Variscan lithospheric mantle domain: evidence from the Puy Beaunit xenoliths (French Massif Central)

Mantle xenoliths from Puy Beaunit (French Massif Central) are compositionally varied, ranging from relatively fertile spinel lherzolites to refractory spinel dunites. Fertile peridotites have registered a modal (amphibole-bearing lherzolites) and cryptic metasomatic event that took place before the last Permian (257 Ma) melting episode. Depletion processes have been constrained by chemical modelling: the depletion is related to different degrees of partial melting, but two major melt extraction episodes are needed to explain the range of major element composition. The second event was responsible for the local large-scale dunitification of former residues. The first melting event (F25%) and metasomatic enrichment are attributed to an ancient fluid and/or liquid infiltration that could be related to a pre-Variscan regional subduction (located to the north of the Beaunit area). Texture acquisition and major deformation of the mantle xenoliths were sub-contemporaneous of the subduction and would result from lithospheric delamination. The second melting event (F17%) produced high-Mg basalts with calc-alkaline trace element signature that gave rise to the Permian underplating episode recognised in western Europe.     

The origin of the acidic and basic rocks of the Tichka Massif,Morocco, based on rare earth elements

The Tichka Massif is one of many late-Paleozoic massifs emplaced in northwestern Africa. It consists of granitic pods surrounded by a complex assemblage of dioritic and gabbroic rocks. Previous workers have suggested an independent origin for the granitic and gabbroic rocks and this study evaluates this suggestion using REE data.The Ce/Yb ratio versus Ce plot for the gabbro shows a large Ce/Yb variation for small changes in Ce, whereas the granites show a linear increase of Ce/Yb with Ce. In the granites, the samples with the highest Ce/Yb ratio have the lowest SiO₂, whereas in the gabbros the Ce/Yb ratio is lowest in the low SiO₂ rocks. The diorites show a tightly clustered pattern.Based on the REE data the granite-diorite-gabbro sequence cannot be related by fractional crystallization. Partial melting of a garnet bearing mantle is consistent with the gabbroic trends. Partial melting of a crustal source with small amounts of apatite and abundant hornblende can produce the granitic rocks.     

Post-collisional melting of crustal sources: constraints from geochronology,petrology and Sr,Nd isotope geochemistry of the Variscan Sichevita and Poniasca granitoid plutons (South Carpathians,Romania)

The Sichevita and Poniasca plutons belong to an alignment of granites cutting across the metamorphic basement of the Getic Nappe in the South Carpathians. The present work provides SHRIMP age data for the zircon population from a Poniasca biotite diorite and geochemical analyses (major and trace elements, Sr–Nd isotopes) of representative rock types from the two intrusions grading from biotite diorite to biotite K-feldspar porphyritic monzogranite. U–Pb zircon data yielded 311 ± 2 Ma for the intrusion of the biotite diorite. Granites are mostly high-K leucogranites, and biotite diorites are magnesian, and calcic to calc-alkaline. Sr, and Nd isotope and trace element data (REE, Th, Ta, Cr, Ba and Rb) permit distinguishing five different groups of rocks corresponding to several magma batches: the Poniasca biotite diorite (P₁) shows a clear crustal character while the Poniasca granite (P₂) is more juvenile. Conversely, Sichevita biotite diorite (S₁), and a granite (S₂*) are more juvenile than the other Sichevita granites (S₂). Geochemical modelling of major elements and REE suggests that fractional crystallization can account for variations within P₁ and S₁ groups. Dehydration melting of a number of protoliths may be the source of these magma batches. The Variscan basement, a subduction accretion wedge, could correspond to such a heterogeneous source. The intrusion of the Sichevita–Poniasca plutons took place in the final stages of the Variscan orogeny, as is the case for a series of European granites around 310 Ma ago, especially in Bulgaria and in Iberia, no Alleghenian granitoids (late Carboniferous—early Permian times) being known in the Getic nappe. The geodynamical environment of Sichevita–Poniasca was typically post-collisional of the Variscan orogenic phase.     

Plutonism in the Variscan Odenwald (Germany): from subduction to collision

 Latest Devonian to early Carboniferous plutonic rocks from the Odenwald accretionary complex reflect the transition from a subduction to a collisional setting. For ∼362 Ma old gabbroic rocks from the northern tectonometamorphic unit I, initial isotopic compositions (ε_Nd=+3.4 to +3.8;⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr =0.7035–0.7053;δ¹⁸O=6.8–8.0‰) and chemical signatures (e.g., low Nb/Th, Nb/U, Ce/Pb, Th/U, Rb/Cs) indicate a subduction-related origin by partial melting of a shallow depleted mantle source metasomatized by water-rich, large ion lithophile element-loaded fluids. In the central (unit II) and southern (unit III) Odenwald, syncollisional mafic to felsic granitoids were emplaced in a transtensional setting at approximately 340–335 Ma B.P. Unit II comprises a mafic and a felsic suite that are genetically unrelated. Both suites are intermediate between the medium-K and high-K series and have similar initial Nd and Sr signatures (ε_Nd=0.0 to –2.5;⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7044–0.7056) but different oxygen isotopic compositions (δ¹⁸O=7.3–8.7‰ in mafic vs 9.3–9.5‰ in felsic rocks). These characteristics, in conjunction with the chemical signatures, suggest an enriched mantle source for the mafic magmas and a shallow metaluminous crustal source for the felsic magmas. Younger intrusives of unit II have higher Sr/Y, Zr/Y, and Tb/Yb ratios suggesting magma segregation at greater depths. Mafic high-K to shoshonitic intrusives of the southern unit III have initial isotopic compositions (ε_Nd=–1.1 to –1.8;⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr =0.7054–0.7062;δ¹⁸O=7.2–7.6‰) and chemical characteristics (e.g., high Sr/Y, Zr/Y, Tb/Yb) that are strongly indicative of a deep-seated enriched mantle source. Spatially associated felsic high-K to shoshonitic rocks of unit III may be derived by dehydration melting of garnet-rich metaluminous crustal source rocks or may represent hybrid magmas. Received: 7 December 1998 / Accepted: 27 April 1999     

Faulting history at the eastern termination of the High Atlas Fault (Western High Atlas,Morocco)

At its eastern termination, the High Atlas Fault in the Western High Atlas in Morocco, consists of a splay of three faults. In the interjacent fault blocks, Neo- and Paleoproterozoic basement, forming the northernmost extremity of the NW-African Craton, is cropping out. The Precambrian basement witnesses a long history of brittle deformation starting at the end of the Pan-African Orogeny. A subsequent episode of normal faulting can be related to the development of a Hercynian basin along the northern passive margin of the cratonic promontory. With regard to the main tectonic activity in the Western High Atlas, basically two models exist: one emphasising block tectonics reflecting Mesozoic rifting followed by Alpine uplift and inversion, the other emphasising Late Paleozoic dextral wrench tectonics. The analysis of the fault activity along the splay faults reveals a predominantly Alpine history, consisting of the Triassic development of the Atlas Rift along the axial zone of the orogen, followed by uplift and inversion. The Late Jurassic to Cenozoic fault activity took place in a sinistral transpressive regime and was partitioned over the three splay faults. Dextral strike-slip fault activity could not be demonstrated in the fault blocks nor along the splay faults. Therefore the faults were probably not involved in Late Paleozoic dextral wrench tectonics.     

Post‐Variscan exhumation of the Central Anti‐Atlas (Morocco) constrained by zircon and apatite fission‐track thermochronology

The origin of the Anti‐Atlas relief is one of the currently debated issues of Moroccan geology. To constrain the post‐Variscan evolution of the Central Anti‐Atlas, we collected nine samples from the Precambrian basement of the Bou Azzer‐El Graara inlier for zircon and apatite fission‐track thermochronology. Zircon ages cluster between 340 ± 20 and 306 ± 20 Ma, whereas apatite ages range from 171 ± 7 Ma to 133 ± 5 Ma. Zircon ages reflect the thermal effect of the Variscan orogeny (tectonic thickening of the ca. 7 km‐thick Paleozoic series), likely enhanced by fluid advection. Apatite ages record a complex Mesozoic–Cenozoic exhumation history. Track length modelling yields evidence that, (i) the Precambrian basement was still buried at ca. 5 km depth by Permian times, (ii) the Central Anti‐Atlas was subjected to (erosional) exhumation during the Triassic‐Early Cretaceous, then buried beneath ca. 1.5 km‐thick Cretaceous‐Paleogene deposits, (iii) final exhumation took place during the Neogene, contemporaneously with that of the High Atlas.